Racetrack and Shox
by L.ithJayhawk
Summary: A pretty good story my younger sister Shox wrote... lots of chapters, but they are short. Check it out for her sake...
1. Krissie

****

Racetrack and Shox

Written By Shox, The Nameless Wonder's Sister

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Newsies or characters from the video. I do own this plotline, Shox, Spyder, Lasso, and Brooklyn. Shorty (my sister) is borrowed from The Nameless Wonder (SgtPeppersGirl) who is also my sister. And Shorty.

Krissie

The plane lurched. _Manhattan already? _I thought. I picked up all of my luggage, which wasn't much because the U-Haul moving truck had all the rest of it, and followed my sister, Brittany, and the rest of the passengers off the plane. I gasped when I saw the city before me. Tall buildings, lots of traffic, and tall boys about the age of seventeen running around with newspapers over their shoulders screaming, "Extra! Extra! Read all about it!" _I didn't know newsies would still be around. _I thought. 

"I'll go and start unpacking." said Brittany. I nodded and she walked away. I carried on my way to explore the city. A tall newsie, taller than I was, that looked about twenty-one passed by me. He was wearing a black vest and brown plaid pants and looked sort of Italian. A cigar was sticking out of his mouth. 

"Hey dere, goil." said an Italian sounding voice behind me. I swerved around, only to come face to face with the Italian boy. 

"Excuse me?" I said. "Who are you and why are you talking to me?" 

"The name's Racetrack. Racetrack Higgins. I'se twenty-one. Who are you?" said 'Racetrack'. 

"I'm Krissie, age 19. Now why are you talking to me?" I replied angrily. 

"Wanna go out with me?" Racetrack said grinning. 

"What?!?" I screeched "Are you out of your mind?" I walked away, thinking, _man that guy was crazy_. Around eleven that night, Brittany and I finally finished unpacking.

"Well, I gotta get back to my own apartment room. See ya." said Brittany. I waved goodbye groggily and she walked slowly out of the room. I had gotten Brittany and I jobs as newsies today, hoping that Racetrack wouldn't be in the same newsie group as us. I fell asleep, knowing that tomorrow would be a big day, selling newspapers and all.


	2. Racetrack

Racetrack

My charm didn't work on that Krissie girl that day. But Weasel had told us that two new newsgirls would be joining us today, by the names of Brittany and Krissie. I wondered if it was my, I mean, _the_ Krissie. I could only hope so…

I started to get ready to sell the papes. After I was finished, I went outside and waited for Weasel to open the gate so I could buy my papes.

I heard some girls talking behind me and I turned around. There was that Krissie girl and a blonde girl, who looked older than Krissie-even older than _me_- who was supposedly Brittany. I slicked back my hair and strolled over to Krissie. She saw me and her eyes widened. She looked a bit stoned, like she was going to fall over or something. 

"Hey goil," I said. "I didn't know that you's was going to be a newsie."

"I _am_ going to be a newsie," she replied coldly. 

"So am I!!! WooHoo!!" shrieked Brittany. I instantly thought she was crazy. Or maybe just very hyper…

"What's it to you, Racetrack?" Krissie growled. It wasn't going well so far, and I thought maybe I should ease off a little. Maybe I'd just tell her she had to get a nickname, end up being partners with her, hold her hand while were selling papes, and maybe ask her to go to the movies with me. Maybe, just maybe, it would work.

"Well, if you's is gonna be newsgoils, you gotta get nicknames." I told them.

"Shorty!!" cried Brittany. Then Skitts passed by. Brittany started to drool. She turned to him and said, "I love you." Krissie rolled her eyes. Skittery seemed to think it was pretty cool. Okay, I take back what I said. Brittany _is_ crazy. 

"Wanna go out?" Skittery said and they pranced off together to go get some papes. He must be crazy, too.

I heard Krissie mutter something. 

"What'd you say, goil?" I asked. "I said that my name will be Shox." she hissed. Then the gate opened and Krissie trotted off and bought thirty papes.


	3. Shox

Shox

I honestly was beginning to think my own sister was a stupidhead. I mean, Racetrack liking me was one thing, but Brittany liking that Skittery guy was just a little too weird for me. Well, anyway, Racetrack was starting to tick me off. First, he wanted me to be partners with him. I decided I'd let him have a second chance, so I agreed and I followed him onto the streets. He showed me his friends. There was Cowboy, Davey, Les, Mush, Kid Blink, and a whole lot more. But then he grabbed my hand while we were walking around screaming stuff about the headline. I winced but let him. Then after all our papes were gone (Good headline! Woot!), it happened. "Hey, Shox! Race wants to ask you something!" shouted Mush who was dragging Racetrack towards me with Kid Blink and Cowboy assisting him. 

"Well, what is it?" I asked coolly.

Racetrack turned practically bright red. He looked down towards the ground. 

"Can you go to see Matrix Reloaded with me?" He muttered.

__

There he goes again. I thought. Then I realized that I _wanted_ to say yes. I mean, Racetrack was real nice and wasn't half bad looking either. Besides that he may have gotten upset if I said no, and just by the look on his face, I knew he was pleading me to go with him.

I smiled. "Sure I will, Race." I replied. He looked up at me with gleaming brown eyes. 

"Really?" he asked. 

"Yeah," I said. "Did you think I was kidding?" He smiled and tried to leap up-or maybe forward, towards me-but Kid Blink and the others held him down and dragged him off.

"Look at dat, Race," said Cowboy. "You've got yourself a date."


	4. Racetrack

Racetrack

As soon as we got back into the lodging house, Mush spread the word. 

"Racetrack has got a date! Everyone's got to help him get ready!" They all started fixing my hair and stuff. The whole time I was wondering if the guys were afraid of Mush, or if they wanted to help me. I ended up wearing a tux and my hair was all greased back. I didn't bring my hat, because Kid Blink said that you never wear a hat when you're on a date. I was all ready. I got in the car and drove over to Shox's apartment. She answered the door, and a skinny gray tiger cat poked his head out. He started to run out, but Shox scooped him up before he went out into the dark city.

"You have to stay inside this time, Shadow," she said to the cat. She tossed him inside and closed the door, so he wouldn't try to get out again.

"Hey babe," I said. "You ready?" 

"Yeah." said Shox. We walked side by side back to the car. She hopped in the front seat and closed the door. I started the car up and drove towards the movie theater. There was silence for a long time. 

"Race?" Shox asked suddenly. 

"Yeah?" I replied. 

"You know my real name. I don't know yours. What is it?" I was hit suddenly by that question. No one had ever asked me that, really. I didn't want to tell her, but at the same time I did. 

"Max." I told her. "It's Max." I cringed at my real name. Max. What kind of stupid name is Max anyway?

"Why do newsies change their names?" she asked. She seemed to not know much about newsies at all, really.

"Most of us just don't like our real names, so we change them for our own satisfaction. But sometimes it's serious. Like if Snyder wants to put you back in jail but he can't find you because no one but you knows your real name." I informed her. She nodded and neither of us said anything else until we got to the theater.


	5. Shox

Shox

When we got to the theater, Matrix Reloaded was already seating.

"What do you want from the concession stand?" Race asked me.

"Just a medium Pepsi," I replied. "Here." I said, handing Racetrack some money for my drink.

"That's alright," he told me. "I'll buy it."

"Thanks." I said. I trotted off to find us some seats. I felt someone watching me, so I turned around. A familiar pair of green eyes was glaring at Race. "Uh oh…" I said to myself. "This is not looking good so far." I wandered over to the boy. "Hi Jack." I said. He jumped and stared at me.

"Oh, hey Krissie." he said. "Who is that guy that you were talking to over there?"

"Oh, that's Race. He's a friend of mine." Jack stared at the floor for a while, looking confused.

"I thought I was your boyfriend," he said after a while. That remark made me mad.

"You were," I said. "Jack, I've told you this so many times. We're through. You are my ex now. Get over it, okay? I have to go get me and Race some seats in the movie." I told him. With that said, I trotted off into the theater and grabbed a couple of seats towards the back row. I could see a lot better back there. Race got back and handed me my Pepsi. 

"Thanks." I said quietly. The movie started. That's when I saw it. Jack was sitting two rows ahead of us, glaring at Race and me. 

"Race?" I whispered. "See that guy two rows ahead of us that's staring at us?"

"Yeah," said Race. "Do you know him?"

"Yes," I told him. "His name is Jack." Race nodded. There was an awkward silence. "He's my ex." Race looked at me as if I was crazy.

"What?" he asked.

"Yeah he's my ex, and he's sorta ticked that we're together." I told him. He took it well enough. He just nodded and continued to watch the movie.

After the movie was over, Race took me home. "Thanks for taking me, Racetrack." I said.

"No problem, Shox, anytime." he said, grinning. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Okay, bye, Race!" I shouted after him. He waved goodbye and hopped back into his car. As for me, I went inside and went to bed. It's always a long day when you know your ex is following you.


	6. Racetrack

Racetrack

The morning after my date, I woke up, got ready, and went outside. Kid Blink was yelling, "They jacked up the price! Didja hear that? Thirty cents a hundred!" 

"We gotta figure out something to do." said Cowboy. 

"What's going on, Shox?" I asked sleepily. "Who jacked up what price?" 

"Well, it's about time you woke up!" she said. "Well, anyway, Pulitzer jacked up the price of the papes by thirty cents." 

"We gotta figure out something to do." said Cowboy.

"Like what?" asked Davey. "Go on strike?" Uh-oh. This is not good.

"Yeah! We can go on a strike!" cried Jack.

"What are you, mad?" I yelled.

"Seriously!" Shox added. "Pulitzer would beat us by a mile!"

"It's a good idea!" shouted Cowboy. "Do you just wanna take what they give us, or do you wanna strike?"

Silence. A very long, awkward silence. Then Les broke the silence.

"Strike!" he called. 

"Okay, then listen!" shouted Cowboy. Everyone shut their mouths.

"Pulitzer and Hearst have to respect the rights of the working boys…"

"And girls!" Shox called

"Pulitzer and Hearst have to respect the rights of the working boys _and _girls of New York!"

"Yeah!" everyone shouted back. Then Cowboy got into this long speech about us going on strike and being a Union, and that we had to be ambassadors. As ambassadors, we had to go to different parts of New York to tell all the other newsies about the strike so that they could help us.

"I'll go to Brooklyn with Davey, Racetrack, and Shox." Cowboy told us. Everyone else picked where they were going. _At least I get to go with Shox, _I thought. _But what would Spot Conlon think about me having Shox as a girlfriend? _

"Come on Race! We're leaving now!" Shox called after me. I ran back up to them and we started on our way to Brooklyn, to Spot Conlon, and to (hopefully) more newsies in our Union. 


	7. Shox

Shox

We were at the Brooklyn Bridge and there were bunches of guys in their underwear jumping into the water. One came up to me and said, "Hey, dollface. What are you doing hanging around with Higgins?" I shoved him into the water. 

"I'm hanging around with Racetrack," I shouted down to him. "Because unlike you, he's not a stupid Brooklyn jerk!" Racetrack started laughing, along with Cowboy and Davey. I stood on the edge of the bridge and shouted out, "Don't mess with me, Brooklyn!"

"So this is the new goil, huh?" said a raspy voice behind me. "Racetrack's new goilfriend." I turned to see a short boy with a slingshot hanging out of his pocket. Dangling out from under his red suspenders was a black cane with a gold tip. On his face, he wore a smirk.

"She doesn't act much like a goil," he said. "If I didn't know any bettah, I'd say she was a boy." That was it. I wasn't taking any more of this boy's remarks. I started stomping over to him. Before long, I was moving my legs but wasn't going anywhere. I felt a hand brush against my neck, and I turned around to see who the hand belonged to. Racetrack was holding on to the collar of my shirt. I squirmed around, but he wouldn't let go.

"Take it easy goil, Spot was just teasing you." he said. I calmed down and he let me go. I climbed up onto the stack of crates where Spot was. Nobody could stop me now. I shoved him off the crates-after taking his hat, cane, slingshot, and shooters, of course-and started shooting him with his slingshot and shooters. I placed the hat on my head and threw the cane at Spot. I hopped off the crates.

"Now tease me." I sneered. "I dare ya." Spot grabbed the slingshot, shooters, and hat from me. I stuck my tongue out at him.

Then Jack told Spot about the strike. Davey jumped in and said, "So if we get all the newsies in New York to help us, we'll be unstoppable. So you gotta join us, because… well… you _gotta._" 

"Yeah, so get your lousy Brooklyn butts over there!" I yelled. Racetrack clamped a hand over my mouth. I bit it.

"Ow!" Racetrack said. Spot stared at me for a while, a weird expression on his face. 

"Hey Spot!" yelled a girl's voice behind me. I turned around. I couldn't believe what I saw.

"Izzat you, Sammy?" I asked. 

"I used to be. Now I am Spyder. How do you know who..." She paused in the middle of her sentence and gave me a good observation. She smiled. "Hi Krissie." she said. 

"My name is Shox now." I said to her. "I's is a newsie now."

"Well, I guess you already know Spot then, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah." I replied. "And do you know Racetrack?"

"Yes. Heard he has a new girlfriend," she replied. "Where is she?"

I rolled my eyes. "You're looking at her." I barked. 


	8. Racetrack

Racetrack

After a brief conversation with Spyder and Spot, the two told us that telling them we weren't going to run the first time some goon came at us with a club wasn't enough. We had to show them. We thanked them and headed back to Manhattan. When we got there, the others were already waiting in Central Park. I headed over to Dutchy and Specs to play marbles. Shox trotted after me to see what I was doing. I invited her to play.

"Could you teach me how?" she asked.

I laughed. "You haven't ever played mahbles?" I said after calming down.

"No," she growled. "In Missouri, I always played with electronic stuff or modern board games. I don't see what's so funny about me never playing marbles, either."

"It ain't funny," I reassured her. "It just seems a little weahd to us newsies that youse nevah played a game a mahbles, while we nevah played any of dose fancy games dat youse play." I began to teach her how to play when I whispered, "Youse always gotta cheat when youah playin' foah da foist time."

"Raaacetraaack!" scolded Dutchy.

"Oh, and one moah thing," I told her. "No biting!" She giggled and nodded. 

"So, Jack," said the smart-alecky voice that we know as Skittery. "Where's Spot Conlon?"

"Yeah!" Shorty piped up.

"Oh," Cowboy sighed. "He was concoined about us bein' serious."

"Well, den, Jack," said Kid Blink, sounding a bit uneasy. "Maybe we should ease off a little. I mean, without Brooklyn, there's not enough of us Jack."

"Yeah," added Skittery. "I definitely think we should forget about it for a while." A few of the newsies nodded in agreement and there were a few "Yeah"s and "Skittery's right"s. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a little glimmer of nervousness in Shox's eyes. She was scared without Brooklyn, too.

"'Ey, who are we kiddin' heah!" shouted Cowboy. "Spot Conlon was right! Is dis just a game to you guys? Come on!"

"He's right!" shouted a nervous but confident voice behind me. _Careful Shox,_ I thought. _Some things are better unsaid than said._

The circulation bell rang. Time for the scabs to get their papers.

"Anybody heah dat?" yelled Cowboy.

"NO!" everyone yelled back.

"Den what are we gonna do about it?" 

"SOAK 'EM!" we ran. We all ran as fast as we could to the gates. The scabs were already there waiting for us. It was almost as if they had been expecting us… that was a very weird feeling. Then all of a sudden the scabs were parting, the gates were opening, and… and…

"WHOA, JACK!" I screamed. "IT'S A TRICK!!!" It was. That big gang of gangsters was advancing on us, and we had nowhere to run. Finally, they all started attacking us. One of them was specifically advancing on me. Just perfect. He had me cornered. Nowhere for me to run now. Well, it was nice knowin' ya, Earth.

"HEY!" screamed an angry voice. Ut-oh… Shox is gonna get a beating… "LEAVE HIM ALONE YOU RETARDS!!" None of the gangsters loved that too much. They started to advance on Shox, not like she cared. When she was just about to be cornered, she ran. Man, did she run. It was pretty cool, watching her dart around, and when she came to walls she had to run on them a little, because she was running so fast. It was a little like a show, because all of the newsies stopped whatever they were doing and began cheering wildly for my fast girlfriend. At last she was beat. She stood in a corner, panting, sweating, with the gangsters getting closer. I had to get in there and help her. I shoved past all of the gangsters and stood protectively in front of her. The gangsters just snickered and kept inching closer. Shox grabbed on to my shoulders and held tight. She was trembling wildly, because the poor girl was so scared. I still stood firm. I wasn't gonna move away from her, I was never gonna let her go…


	9. Shox

Shox

"Nevah feah, Brooklyn is heah!" I looked up and saw Spot, along with his Brooklyn army, armed with slingshots. The gangsters that were just about to kill Race and I looked up too, but it was too late. Brooklyn had already fired. Howls rose up from every direction, howls of pain. Race and I ran before those guys could get back on us. Spot swung down on a rope and spit-shook with Cowboy. All the newsies took care of the rest, punching, kicking, and overall hurting the gangsters. All of Brooklyn was down by then, and they crowded in with us. Denton, the guy who was covering the strike news for us, shouted for us to look and he snapped a picture of us that went in the newspapers. The next day, all of the newsies met at Tibby's. Denton arrived at about the same time as someone I knew…

"Krissie? Is that you?" I turned and saw Rachael, my best friend (who I had not expected to come to New York). 

"I was, until I became Shox." I informed her. "What brings you here, Rachael?"

"Rachael?" she laughed. "Who is Rachael? I'm Lasso, and I don't know any Rachaels. I am a newsie too, you know. I have just been sick for a while, and I just heard about the strike and about someone getting a new boyfriend." she giggled and turned towards Race, who was obviously not listening.

"Whazzat about a boyfriend?" He said after a few minutes of total unawareness of existing. 

"Oh, nothing." I said. _You're hopeless._ I thought. Lasso snickered behind me. She suddenly straightened up.

"And, speaking of a boyfriend, where's mine?" She asked. She began looking around at all the tables in the room. "Eenie… meenie… miney… there he is!" She sauntered over to the table in the corner, where Cowboy, Davey, Spot, and Les were sitting. Cowboy saw Lasso and gave that retarded tongue-to-tooth grin that everybody still laughs at, but apparently Rachael was (and still is) immune to it.

"Helloooowww, Lasso. You feelin' better?" He asked. 

"Yeah, I am." she said. She grinned and sat down next to him. Since I saw that there was no one else to talk to, I took a seat next to Race. I would have even if there was anyone to talk to, but still. I sat next to Race. End of story. Let's move on. Okay, I sat next to Race, and then Denton came in.

"Hey, fellas!" he said. Shouts of "Hey Denton!" and "You got da paper?" came from everywhere in the room. Spot immediately ran over to Cowboy, who Denton had handed the paper to, and started going, "Where's me pitcha, where's me pitcha?" I walked over, not really caring whether I was in the paper or not, and looked at the headline. It read:

__

CHILDREN'S CRUSADE  
NEWSIES STOP THE WORLD

Stop the world? There was nothing about that in the job description…

"So, big deal," said Skittery.

"Yeah, big deal," repeated Shorty.

"You get your pitcha in da papes, what's dat getcha?" growled Skittery.

Racetrack made a face.

"Shut up, boy," yelled Cowboy. "You've been in a bad mood all day!"

"I ain't in a bad mood," sneered Skittery. 

"Youse glum and dumb!" Race barked, as he slapped Skittery in the face. "You get youah pitcha in da papes, youah famous. Youah famous, youse get anythin' you want. An' _dat's _what's so great about New York!"

A whole bunch of "yeah"s chorused from around the room. Our drinks came, and we all grabbed one, except for Mush and Kid Blink, who had to share one, courtesy of Racetrack. 

"So, you have your picture in the papers," said Denton. "Now you've just gotta make sure you stay there."

"Hmmm… you're right," said Cowboy. "So let's have a rally! We'll make it the biggest, loudest blowout this town has ever seen, so the other newspapers will feel stupid if they don't write about it!" All of the newsies cheered, and raised their glasses.

"To our man Denton," said Davey.

"To our man Denton!" chorused everyone else. Little did I know, the rally was going to be the worst day of my 19-year life. 


	10. Racetrack

Racetrack

Once again, I picked up Shox from her house and we drove off, talking and laughing every second of the way. When we got to old Irving Hall, we ran off to the front row and sat down next to each other. Jack came on stage after all the music finished playing. 

"Carryin' da banner!" he cried out. Everyone cheered and stood up. Spot and Davey then entered the stage, each going to a different side of Jack. "So," Jack said, as everyone quieted down. "We've made it all da way heah, and as we continue, it's just gonna get tougher." Nervous glances were exchanged all over the auditorium. "But dat's okay," said Cowboy reassuringly. "'Cuz we'll just get tougher wid it!" Everyone cheered again, but Jack also quieted them again. "But, we also gotta listen to my pal Dave heah, who says, stop soakin' da scabs!"

"Well, what ah we supposed ta do ta da bums, kiss 'em?" I snorted. Everyone laughed, and Jack put that retarded grin on his face again. 

"'Ey," Spot growled. "Any scab I see I soak 'em. Period." Everyone yelled yeah and went nuts. 

"No, no," Davey said nervously. "That's what they want us to do. If we get into violence, then it's just playing into their hands!"

"Hey," barked Spot. "They're gonna be playing with my hands. 'Cuz it ain't what they say, it's what _we_ say. And nobody's gonna listen to us unless we make 'em, right?" Everyone agreed. 

Jack stepped forward. "You got no brains!" he shouted. "We startin' ta fight eachuddah, dat's just what da big shots wanna see! If we fight eachuddah, den weah not'in', if we don't stick tagedda, den weah not'in', and if we can't even trust eachuddah, den weah not'in'!"

"Yeah," I sighed, "Weah wid you, Jack."

"So," Jack breathed, "Whadda you say, Spot?"

Spot hesitated but then smirked and his head bobbed up and down on his neck as he said, "I say, that what you say, is what I say." Everyone cheered as the two boys spit-shook. As they stepped off the stage, the music started playing again (Quick little note from Shox: Here is where it begins to be the worst night of my entire life.) and Medda stepped onto the stage. I gasped. I loved Medda! She began to sing High Times, Hard Times and since everyone (except Shox) knew the lyrics, we all sang along. I screamed and cheered and waved my hat around in the air. Then Medda came into the aisle and I couldn't help myself. I got up and danced with her. After about ten minutes of dancing with Medda, I strolled back to my seat and something was wrong… 

"Where's Shox?" I asked Mush and Bumlets, who had expressions on their faces that said "Uh-oh…".

Mush bit his lip and said, "She saw you dancing with Medda and just ran away." 

"Yeah," Said Brooklyn, who was also Shox's friend and Mush's girlfriend. "It looked like she was crying too."

"Yeah," said Bumlets. "And when she ran off, she had said something about you not paying attention to her. _At all._" Enough was said there. I ran off, my heart thumping. I caught a glimpse of dark brown hair with blonde highlights. I ran faster and finally she turned around. I stopped abruptly, and she glared. _This is worse than the second day I saw her,_ I thought. 

"Creep," she muttered, and turned away again. 

"Shox, wait," I said as I tried to grab her hand. She pulled away and turned around. 

"Why should I wait?" she asked with fire in her blue eyes. 

"Shox, listen to me…"

"No, you listen to _me_."

"I didn't mean to…"

"Maybe you should think before you do something then. Now get back to Medda, and let me go."

"Go…" I choked. "What do you mean go?"

"Go. Out of this place. I can't stand it anymore, and I can just tell that I'm not wanted here anyway. Now move over, and say goodbye to the only Shox you'll ever have, 'cuz when I get on that plane back to St. Louis, I am never coming back." 

I tried to talk. I couldn't. In my mind, I asked myself, _Why did you dance with Medda? Will Shox really leave? Will she really never come back?_ I figured all these answers were bad ones. I opened my mouth, no words came out still. I just followed her out the door trying to speak. She was grabbing the handle to the door, when she turned around. 

"You still here?" she asked. I decided it was time to let her go, and I stopped. I had lost her, and it was my own fault. She turned the handle and went out the door. I felt like crying. I loved her, and now she was leaving. If only I had thought before I went crazy over Medda…


	11. Shox

Shox

I ran in screaming. I ran past Racetrack, through the auditorium doors, and on the stage. How do you get five billion people to listen to you without a microphone? 

"People…" I gasped through the microphone. Okay, now I was gonna scream. "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!! THERE'S COPS OUT THERE!!! RRRRRUUUUUUNNNNN!!!" The cops came in, and they were really putting up a fight with all of us. As soon as Racetrack saw that Medda was in trouble, he ran over to protect her. He stood in front of her with his arms outstretched, but it didn't work. The policeman, ticked by the way Racetrack was acting (Amen, bruddah. I was ticked, too.), punched him in the face and stomach. Racetrack fell to the floor, unconscious. Even though I was mad at Racetrack, I cared about what just happened. I ran over to the policeman and began attacking him. He tried to get me, but I jumped out of the way. Another policeman came over to me and held me down. I bit his hairy arm (which, mind you, tasted horrible) and he screamed and ran. I honestly don't know why I bit people so much then, but who cares? Anyway, the other policeman, by now, was seething with madness. He was so mad that he picked me up and threw me across the room. That's all I can remember… well, I'll go into details about how the throw worked then. Okay, so he picked me up and threw me. I skidded across all the seats in a row and bashed into the wall. The next thing I knew, Brooklyn, Lasso, Spyder, and Shorty were all standing above me. 

"Oh my God, she's actually alive!" gasped Spyder.

"Shox, we saw the whole thing." said Lasso.

"Yeah," Brooklyn told me, "The way you were attacking that cop and everything."

"It's Racetrack's fault that this happened," Shorty said angrily, "If he would have just left Medda alone and stayed with you, you wouldn't be practically dead right now." 

"We know." chorused the others, including me. 

"Shox," breathed an all-too-familiar voice above me. 

"Go away Racetrack," said Brooklyn. "You caused all this."

"And I bet you knew this was going to happen," said Spyder, "You just didn't want to leave Medda the ancient one alone." 

Racetrack stopped short. _Uh-oh, _I thought. _Now he's going to be sad._ "Shox… Shox, I…" he stuttered. "I didn't mean for all this to happen…" 

Now, I knew he didn't do this on purpose, but I also knew that he knew this was going to happen, just like Spyder had said, and it made me angry. 

"Well, the fact is, Racetrack, it did." I barked. Then I groaned. The ankle that I had broken when I was three hurt really bad right now. I clutched it and started making little whimpering noises as I rocked back and forth. I fought back the painful tears that were just about to come streaming down my face. 

"We need to get her to a hospital," Racetrack stammered, "and fast."

"We?" growled Lasso. "I think you mean the girls. You aren't going anywhere near her for quite a while."


	12. Racetrack

Racetrack

As I headed back to the Newsboys' Lodging House, I felt rotten. Man, I had just nearly killed my own girlfriend, and as you would imagine, it didn't feel good. I crawled into bed and for the first time since about first grade, I felt cool tears running down my face. I pulled the covers over my head, and regretted the fact that tomorrow all the newsies would be on trial. I wondered if tomorrow would be a good day to apologize. I knew apologizing wouldn't be enough. But maybe it _would _be enough to make Shox decide to stay in New York, just long enough for us to sort things out, and then eventually she would decide to stay for good. I buried my face in my pillow and prayed to God that she would stay. She had to. If she didn't, then my life would be ruined forever. But, I also knew that if she stayed, it could ruin _her_ life forever. I decided that her life was the better one to leave untouched. She could leave, ruin my life, brighten her life, and forget all about me. That's just the way things work in this dump that these stupid people call NYC. You leave and never come back, you forget all about the people you met. It sucks, I know.

Next day, at the trial, all the Manhattan newsies were there, except for the girls. Finally, about halfway through, they showed up. Shorty and Lasso held the door open while Spyder and Brooklyn dragged a limping Shox into the courthouse.

"Sorry we're late, your honor." said Spyder.

"We had to check Shox out." added Lasso. Judge Monahan grunted and motioned for them to take their seats. Shox told Spyder and Brooklyn to let go. They did, and Shox limped off to take her seat, which was supposed to be next to me. When she saw this, though, she and Bumlets traded seats. 

"I fine each of you a hundred dollars or 3 weeks time in the house of refuge." growled Monahan. Murmurs rose up from all over the room, because none of us had a hundred dollars, with one possible exception…

"I-I'll pay for all of them." Shox stuttered. That being said she pulled something out of her pocket… _holy crud! _

It was a huge wad of money, enough to pay for all the newsies' charges, and to buy about ten mezzanine seats at Irving Hall. She held it out to Monahan. He ran his fingers through every one of the hundred dollar bills that Shox had handed to him and handed back the extra money. He cleared his throat and stared, stone-faced, at all of us. 

"Well," he said in a hoarse voice at last, "That should just about do it. You are all dismissed." We all filed out of the courthouse in awe. When Shox finally came limping out, I cautiously walked over to her. 

"Shox," I said when I finally caught up to her, "First of all, where'd you get all that money? Thanks so much for doing that!"

"You're not welcome," she snorted, "I only did that because it was fair. I was only going to pay for the girls, but then you guys would probably have to go to jail. And it's for _me_ to know and for _you_ to try and find out where all the money came from."

"Okay… and second of all… I'm sorry for what happened last night."

"That ain't gonna be enough. You just about killed me. I'm outta here. I have a day planned on my own. I'm on a shopping spree."

"I figured, since you're carrying all that money around in your pocket!"

"Mind your own business. Goodbye, for the last time!" She strolled off, and turned in to Abercrombie & Fitch when she first caught sight. I went in the opposite direction, exasperated that she wouldn't just accept my apology.


	13. Shox

Shox

After buying practically everything in A&F, I went out and headed towards Aeropostale. I was about two blocks away when someone bumped into me from behind. I turned around and saw… _Oscar Delancey? _What would he want with me?

"Pardon me, toots." he said, tipping his bowler. I stared at him for a long time and walked off. A little ways later, Morris Delancey popped out of an alleyway, blocking my path. 

"Where's your little boyfriend, tootsie?" he sneered. "Where's your little Racie?" For a split second I thought, _Racie? What's this guy tryin' to pull, anyway?_ I tried to get away, but Morris, big as he was, still blocked my path. 

"Get _away!_" I growled. With that, I kicked him in the shins. He winced and clutched where I had kicked him. Oscar shoved me down in a mud puddle. 

"You've been messin' with the wrong guys, toots," he barked. "Now you're gonna pay." I stood up and brushed myself off. Morris shoved me into the alleyway that he had hopped out of originally. I didn't fall, I didn't want to risk it. They could do anything to me while I was down, since there were two of them. I stood firm, just about ready to kill them. As for my new clothes, they stayed behind in the mud puddle. I lunged towards Oscar and attempted to punch him in the stomach. He grabbed my wrist and twisted it. I kept back the howl, and tears had already come to my eyes. While he had a hold of my wrist, two things happened. First, Morris grabbed hold of my leg and they began to play tug-o-war with me. Second and most importantly, I took the arm and leg that were left, and struck the Delancey brothers. I kicked Morris in the lip, and I punched Oscar in the nose. With that, they both swung me a couple times, still holding me as if I were a tug-o-war rope, and threw me (Hmm… hasn't this happened once before?) into a nearby pile of hay. I couldn't help it, so…

"_Racetrack_!" I screamed, and I prayed that he would actually come, though I knew I didn't deserve it. _I forgive you, Racetrack, just please help me! _I thought, _I miss you being with me all the time! I want you back! I _love_ you! _I knew that he wouldn't come, so I got up, slowly, remembering my sprained ankle that didn't have a cast. I faced the Delanceys and got ready to fight. By the time I was up, Morris was slowly fitting on a brass knuckle, laughing evilly. I was scared stiff and I couldn't move, which didn't happen to me much. I grabbed Morris' hand and punched him in the face with it. It didn't do much, because by now I was weak. I fell back on the hay, and said goodbye to Earth. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, I heard a parade of running footsteps coming closer to the alleyway. I turned towards the entrance, and apparently all the newsies had heard me scream. They were all crammed at the entrance, and leading them was none other than Racetrack. By then the Delancey brothers were advancing on me, and they didn't realize how many people were watching-and glaring. 

"_Get… off… her._" Racetrack said, seething with fury. The Delanceys turned just as Racetrack wound up and punched Oscar hard. Racetrack was beating up Oscar, and Morris saw his chance. He began inching closer to me again, me scared stiff, him cackling, getting ready to knock my lights out with a brass knuckle. Oscar was down by now, and Racetrack turned to attack Morris. I was just about to get killed. 

"_Shox!_" Racetrack shouted. Oscar was now winding up… "_Get outta there!_" He's bringing his hand back… "_Noooooo!_" I'm dead, I think as I cover my eyes. Morris was bringing his hand forward in a furious punch. Just then, a tall plaid-vested figure jumped in front of me and took the blow from the brass knuckle. I screamed as Racetrack fell to the ground, unconscious. I fell down on my knees and sobbed over my injured boyfriend. I didn't deserve his help. I should have taken the blow! I turned around and buried my face in the hay.

"You two are gonna pay for this!" Brooklyn hollered after the fleeing Delanceys. "We'll all have you in the refuge by tonight!" Cowboy ran after them, screaming things about always being big jockish bullies all the time. Lasso ran after him. 

"Get back here, Jackie boy!" she shouted, and they both disappeared into the evening mist. Spyder headed to a phone booth to call ambulances and stuff. Racetrack was in the emergency room by half past five. 

That night, I went to Irving Hall for another performance. Yes, that's where all the money came from. I perform every Friday night, and earn a lot of money, because people think that I am really good at singing, even if I don't make up all the songs by myself. I was backstage, and the show was starting in five minutes. All the newsies were in the crowd, because I told them that I would 'meet' them there. Just then, my cue music started playing and I was announced over the intercom. I came out on stage and walked up to the mike.

"Hi, everyone. I want to dedicate this show to Race, my boyfriend who is in the hospital." I said shakily. I heard a few "awww"s in the crowd, and I could tell that my face was bright red. I stopped talking, the blacklight came on, and I took a deep breath…


	14. Racetrack

Racetrack

Yes, it's true. I was in the hospital, because I took a pretty hard blow from that brass knuckle. Well, the day after the incident, Mush and Kid Blink come barging in the room, gasping for breath, talking up a storm.

"You… shoulda… seen it," panted Kid Blink. "It was amazing!"

"We would have brought her here," said a dazed Mush, "But she said she might break down and cry, like she did yesterday when you were unconscious."

"Here, we videotaped this last night for you." said Kid Blink, handing me a videotape. "Watch it after we leave. I think you might like it." 

"Okay," I said, "And guys, tell Shox that I miss her." They nodded and walked out of the door. I closed it, and flipped on the videotape.

I couldn't believe what I saw. Was that really Shox singing so good on stage? I knew it was, by the way she started the program. Tears filled my eyes. She really did miss me. She really wasn't mad anymore. I flipped off the video, fearing that I might cry if I didn't. All I had left of her now were a few photos that we had taken together (The guys knew that I couldn't live without them), and memories. Memories of the good times, and memories the bad times. Memories of the day we met, and memories of yesterday. Haunting memories of the rally, and comforting memories of our first date. Memories were just about the best thing I had at the time, so I wasn't planning on forgetting them anytime soon. I laid down and cried, the second time in two days. I felt like Oliver Twist, miserable, alone, and crying too much. This time, though, I cried way too long. I cried for at least two hours, minimum. And this time I didn't cover up my face. Instead, I locked the door and didn't answer when the nurses wanted in. Good thing I didn't have a roommate.

The next morning, I woke up and still wasn't ready for visitors, but I _was_ a little better, emotion-wise at least. Otherwise, I was doing a _lot_ better, but I still had three days before I could come out of the hospital. At one o'clock, I unlocked my door to knocking and a girl's voice saying, "Come on, Race, open up." Shox burst in and I was finally happy again. Now, at last, I didn't only have memories. 

"I saw your performance." I said excitedly. She looked at me, puzzled and sad at the same time.

"How?" she asked after a long time of puzzlement. I held up the videotape and she nodded, understanding instantly. Suddenly, she started talking nonstop.

"I miss you, too! I forgive you! Just come back!" were some of the things I could make out. After five minutes, she stopped and stared at me for a long time. Finally, she told me goodbye and get well soon, and she dragged herself out of the room. I closed and locked the door up again.

"I want to come back," I said to nobody in particular. "I want to get out of this place. I wish I could, because I want to be able to crack jokes and gamble and see Shox and all the others again. I want to grow up and live my life out of a stupid hospital." I groaned just then and fell back onto my bed. _I could wait a little while longer for freedom…_ I thought as I drifted off to sleep. 


	15. Shox Finit

Shox

That morning, I woke up gloomy again. I still wanted Racetrack to come back where he belonged. I knew he couldn't for a while, but I couldn't stand the true thought. I would kill myself if he could come out of the hospital. I knew him, and trust me, he would have wanted out by then. When he did come out, I knew he would be nuts and need to work off all that extra energy. When he was energetic, he was pretty dang funny, but he could also be annoying, and by the end of the day I would be just about ready to kill him. I wanted to break him out, because I missed him so much. I kept asking myself what Vinnie Delpino (my fave person [besides Racetrack] of all time, that is a character in the TV show, "Doogie Howser MD") would do if Doogie were trapped in a hospital when he could be doing something better. Would he bale him out? No, he would do the responsible thing and wait patiently until Doogie was ready to come out. I decided to do just that.

Next day, we won. The strike, I mean. Everyone was cheering, I think. I didn't hear them, because I was trapped in my own world, wondering when Racetrack was going to come out. I shivered at the thought that maybe he wouldn't come out. What would I do if I never saw him again? I wouldn't do anything. I wouldn't eat, sleep, play, talk, nothing. I would kill myself eventually, but like I would have cared. Then at least I could be in Heaven with him. All I would do is cry all the time, in my room. Shadow would come up in my bed and meow, but I wouldn't be able to hear or see him. The world would be a blur to me. I would be oblivious to everything around me. Big deal, though. I suck. It's my fault that Racetrack is in the stinkin' hospital. I should have fought the stupid Delanceys on my own. I went home while everyone was still cheering, and I didn't know what to do. 

Just the, I _did _know what I would do. I got out a bag of marbles, and played with my stuffed wolf that I had had since I was nine years old. I cheated a lot, and all Rontu (the wolf) did was push some marbles with his plastic black nose. He didn't care whether I cheated or not. He was my best friend, even if he _was _a stuffed animal. He just continued to push the marbles around with his nose. He didn't really make any moves either. Sometimes the marbles that he pushed went under the stove, and I had to get the salad tongs out in order to get the marbles back. As I look back at that today, I wondered if I was delirious because I missed Racetrack so much. When I was playing marbles, I realized something was missing. I told Rontu to stay, ran to the CD rack, and turned on the Holes soundtrack. I think I _was _delirious. I hadn't listened to that CD since I was eleven. I was thinking back to the past too much, because I thought that I would forget about Racetrack until he came out of the hospital, and everything would be okay. I would be my normal nineteen year old self, and I wouldn't act so weird at home. 

But I wasn't okay. I got out my green mangy (pronounced man-gee, not main-jee) and took a nap while sucking my thumb. When I woke up, I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. That night, though, I looked in the mirror and broke down into tears. I knew that the only way I _would _be okay was if Racetrack got out of the hospital. I straightened up, put my coat on, and went outside. There were fireworks in the sky as I went to Central Park and lie down on a bench. Central Park was deserted, and no one was on the streets. When I saw the hospital in front of me, I began to cry again. But this time, the tears were silent. I didn't whimper at all, not once. I gazed up into the stars, and I felt better, knowing that they were watching over me. But that would never change the fact that Racetrack was in the hospital because of me. I sighed and sat up to glare at the fireworks.

"Stop shootin' them fireworks!" I screamed into the sky "This ain't the kind of night for 'em!" The fireworks didn't cease. I whimpered and lay back down. "Especially not when Race might be gone for good." I whined. I started crying again.

"I wouldn't be sayin' dat too soon, goil." said a familiar Italian voice behind me. I looked up.

"Racetrack!" I gasped. I stood up and threw my arms around him. He did just the same to me. I dug my face into his vest, because I was crying so much. 

"It's alright," said Racetrack, stroking my hair, "I'm heah, baby. Shhhh, stop cryin' now."

"I missed you so much though," I whispered, looking up. We both sat back down. "I went crazy and tried to forget…" I hesitated. "I tried to forget everything."

"It doesn't mattah anymoah," Racetrack said. I had the weird feeling that he was leaning closer to me. "Because weah togeddah now." There was a silence for about five seconds.

"Hey Race?" I asked. 

"Yeah?" he answered.

"You… you do love me don't you?"

"Of coahse I do. I couldn't evah love anyone else but you."

"Same here." Now_ I _was leaning closer to him, too. Then, our lips touched in our first kiss, and probably the sweetest. And, from the way he kissed me, I knew that he wasn't lying about what he said.

THE END


End file.
